Saturday, December 7, 2024
Saturday, December 7, 2024
BAE Systems will build additional self-propelled howitzers for the Army after receiving a $579.3 million contract, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.
The Pennsylvania-based manufacturer will produce the M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzers and M992A3 ammunition carrier vehicles by an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2029, with work being completed in York, PA; Sterling Heights, MI; Aiken, SC; Elgin, OK; and Anniston, AL; according to the July 3 announcement.
"Fiscal [year] 2023 and 2024 weapons and tracked combat vehicle procurement, Army funds in the amount of $265,807,177 were obligated at the time of the award,” the announcement reads.
The M109A7 serves as the Army’s self-propelled 155mm howitzer, designed to provide fire support as well as keep pace with the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Abrams main battle tank.
Each howitzer is paired with the M992A3 Carrier Ammunition Tracked vehicle, which stores and transports the ammunition.
Wednesday’s announcement follows an earlier contract from May in which BAE received a $57 million contract to produce the M109A7 and M992A3 at their facility in York, PA.
For fiscal year 2025, the Army plans to procure 20 Paladin systems in for $417 million and 155 systems for $2.7 billion by FY-29, according to service budget documents.
The Army initially intended to replace a portion of the Paladins with the Extended-Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) howitzer, a modified M109 with a longer gun tube in an effort to increase the firing range but cancelled the program in March after prototyping revealed technical issues.
Instead, the Army opted to use the remaining funds from the cancelled ERCA program to assess existing systems and plans to hold howitzer capability demonstrations with industry manufacturers starting next month at the Army Proving Ground in Yuma, AZ.
Speaking at an Association of the United States Army event in May, Lt. Gen. Karl Gingrich, the deputy chief of staff for programs (G-8), said the Army can also increase the firing range by innovating and improving the 155mm round.